1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, and more particularly relates to a semiconductor device having a flash memory.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a semiconductor device in which both of a flash memory and EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) are installed is often used, as disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-P2002-334024A). In such a semiconductor device, the flash memory and the EEPROM are used independently based on data to be stored. This is because when data is written into the flash memory, any data cannot be written unless the stored data is erased in units of blocks.
However, the configuration in which both of the flash memory and the EEPROM are installed in an electronic apparatus results in a great demerit from the viewpoint of the cost. Thus, a technique for treating the flash memory as the EEPROM is demanded.